It is well known that, to attain the best agricultural performance from a field, a farmer must cultivate the soil, typically through a tillage operation. Modern farmers perform tillage operations by pulling a tillage implement behind an agricultural work vehicle, such as a tractor. Tillage implements typically include a plurality of ground engaging tools configured to till the soil over which the implement travels. For example, the implement may include certain ground engaging tools, such as shanks, configured to penetrate the soil to a particular depth. In this respect, the ground engaging tools may be pivotally coupled to a frame of the implement. Tillage implements may also include additional ground engaging tools, such as harrows configured to level or otherwise flatten any windrows or ridges in the soil and/or baskets configured to reduce the number of clods in the soil and/or firm the soil over which the implement travels. The positions of the various ground engaging tools may be controlled using a control system, for example a proportional-integral (“PI”) or proportional-integral-derivative (“PID”) control system. The control system may maintain the positions of the ground engaging tools within respective thresholds of target positions with respect to the ground surface, e.g., ground penetration depths. Delays within the control system, however, may make the system poorly suited to respond to large changes in the target position. Such large changes may be caused, for example, by an operator selecting a new target position and/or uneven ground surfaces.
Accordingly, a method and related system for automatically controlling a position of one or more ground engaging tools of an agricultural implement relative to a ground surface would be welcomed in the technology.